Blackhawks News

VP/GM Bowman on trade deadline approach

The following is excerpted from VP/GM Stan Bowman's press conference prior to the Blackhawks' Stadium Series game against Pittsburgh on Saturday.

Stan, coming down to the trade deadline here with the Blackhawks. Are you looking to tweak at depth or is there something you're looking to do here in the next couple days?

No, we're not focused on the deadline. We're really happy with the team we have. We made a couple moves right before going to fix some depth at forward. Early on we picked up Jason LaBarbera, and we made our big move back in November. We did that intentionally to try to get a player in for a longer period of time.

I think sometimes it's hard a guy comes in for a couple weeks and then you jump into the playoffs and you can't get him acclimated to your system and the way you play and who you're going to play with. So we're not looking at that at all. We've got a great group here. Lot of chemistry with our guys. We're focused on just going ahead and getting back on the ice. We've been off for a while with the break, but that's not the focus for us.

When you see a deal like the one that was last night that brought Ryan Miller and Ott to your division, is there ever a point as a man danger where you have to kind of fight that urge to go seek a deal to counter that move, that kind of thing? Have you ever had that kind of feeling before for that kind of deal?

No, I think the Blues have been a great team all year. Even if you go back to last year, they're a tough opponent. You're going to have to play your best against them. But I think you can't be reactionary that way. Those guys haven't even played a game yet in St. Louis. You kind of have to see how it all shakes out, but we're more focused on what we can do. We have to play good hockey.

You know, if you're going to get to the final, you've got to play really good teams and beat them along the way. We certainly rose to the challenge last year when we were faced with some great teams in the playoffs, and we were able to get past it. So I think we're going to have to play really, really strong to beat them if we face them down the road. But like I said, they've been a really good team for a while, so I don't know if it will change things all that much.

We're trying not to be a reactionary team because I think we have to do what we do well and focus on our own preparation. You're certainly aware of what other teams do, and you have to be respectful and prepared when you play those teams, but I don't think it makes sense to just do something because another team did a move. Like if they hadn't made a move, it wouldn't have changed our approach.